The IT Soldier

The IT Soldier

It has been restful weekend for me--been taking it easy since Friday. But I have to start working again on a couple of things. It is always difficult to restart the engine once you have allowed it stop.

My biggest challenge in work is my love-hate relationship with IT. At times I feel so tired of this field that I am tempted to throw in the towel. In school, I was never really fond of computers. I didn't even touch a PC until I was in my final year.

Other times, I find my work quite exhilirating. During the course of my IT career, there were projects which I had found challenging and enjoyable. Most of my close friends are also from this industry. This line of work has also given me great rewards: I had the opportunity to travel to many countries and I made a lot of friends everywhere.

But what tires me most is the hype that fuels the entire industry. In the early years of my career, I was like one of those World War I soldiers fighting in the trenches. We would go charging ahead blindly everytime we hear the bugle call. These days, I am stil out there in the frontlines, buried deep in trench mud, but I have learnt to fight more intelligently.

Maybe that's why I enjoy reading the War Poets and watching war movies so much. I always see myself as a soldier. When you are fighting in the trenches, you don't fight for your cause or country. You fight for your comrades beside you. And that is how I'd always approach my work.